22Feb14

U.S. plays down tension with China, upbeat on military exchanges

The United States is optimistic about military exchanges with China and wants
deeper ties to help reduce the risk of miscalculation, a top U.S. military officer
said on Saturday, playing down tension between the world's two biggest
economies.

U.S. Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno told reporters in Beijing that he
had had "frank, honest and important" talks with his Chinese counterparts on
establishing deeper dialogue between the two armies.

"This is really about expanding cooperation, and, frankly, managing
competition. We want to expand our cooperation at a very high level, deepen
our cooperation in areas of mutual interest and then manage our differences
constructively," Odierno said.

"I believe we have lots in common, with not only the Chinese government but
the Chinese military. It's important for us that we emphasize engagement,
dialogue and understanding and build trust between our militaries.

China and the United States have numerous diplomatic disagreements in the
region, including China's moves to assert sovereignty in the South and East
China Sea and U.S. support for self-ruled Taiwan, claimed by Beijing as a
wayward province.

"Those are all issues that we've been working through for a long time and will
continue to work through," Odierno said.

The Chinese and U.S. militaries have faced off on several occasions in recent
years, raising the fear of an unintended clash because of a lack of proper
communication channels between the two sides.

In December, a U.S. guided missile cruiser operating in international waters in
the South China Sea was forced to take evasive action to avoid a collision with
a Chinese warship maneuvering nearby.

"Building a relationship where you can pick up the phone and call your
counterpart, having the ability to build confidence in each other where you've
dealt with each other on several occasions really helps to mitigate potential
miscalculation and problems," Odierno said.

Tension With Japan

The Pentagon on Thursday played down remarks by a senior U.S. Navy
intelligence officer who told a public forum that he believed China was training
its forces to be capable of carrying out a "short, sharp" war with Japan in the
East China Sea.

Asked about the officer's comments, Odierno said: "I've seen no indications of
that at all."

While the East China Sea and China's increasingly bitter dispute with Japan
over ownership of a group of uninhabited islands there was not a major feature
of his talks, Odierno said he emphasized the importance of dialogue.

"We reinforced the importance of dialogue and discussion between the
Japanese and the Chinese regarding this issue," he added.

Odierno said he expected more progress to be made on boosting
military-to-military relations when U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel visits
China in April.

"There's plenty of leeway for us to develop a strong, long-term relationship," he
said.

Odierno did not bring up, and was not asked about, a meeting in Washington
on Friday between President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama, which China
condemned as interference in its internal affairs.

[Source: Reuters, Beijing, 22Feb14]

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